How would you service your truck if you want to keep it 20 years?

[John_M]

Gooserider, "...This isn't a huge issue..." etc. These small details may not be a big issue to some, but taking extra care of these small issues will almost always add to better performance and facilitate maintenance in the future. I call this attitude "anticipating the future" and "taking care of the small details". My friends often criticize me for spending the extra time (and sometimes dollars) needed to perform these tasks. Needless to say, I disregard their criticism. One of their favorite criticisms is my refusal to use a #2 phillips driver in a screw with a #3 phillips head.

John_M

 

[ikessky]

I had to bleed the brakes on my 1992 GMC the old fashion way. My MightyVac would not pull fluid through no matter what I did. I don't think it was generating enough vacuum pressure to overcome something else in the brake system.

 

[Czech]

I do the one man brake bleed, maybe a small chance of contamination, but its worked fine on my 235000 mile Yukon. Get some tubing that fits snug over the bleed valve and is long enough to go to the bottom of a jar sitting on the ground. Put a little brake fluid in the jar, enough to submerse the end of the tubing. Open the valve and pump the brakes until clear fluid. Having the hose in the jar submersed prevents sucking air into the system.

 

[Highbeam]

The problem I found with the mightyvac approach is that it is easy to get false readings of air in the system if you pull bubbles around the threads in the bleeders. I've also had times when you start pulling a good vacuum and it doesn't want to stop before you suck the master cylinder dry (especially a problem on bikes, as we have a smaller resevoir).

What I use instead are the "one man bleeder" units that are essentially a one way valve in a hose.

Gooserider

Maybe you were using the mity-vac wrong. I use the vac to apply a suction to the bleeder and then loosen the bleeder to allow fluid to flow. Then close the bleeder whenever you want to but before the vacuum runs out. This way you always have control and are always sucking on the bleeder. True, if you loosen the bleeder way loosely you might see some air bubbles being sucked up but I don't have a problem with that since I don't consider bubbles, only color of the bled fluid and/or volume of fluid cycled through to be sure it is adequately purged.

Using the mity-vac is a one man job but it takes two hands to top and start the flow of fluid.

Having a tight fitting on the bleeder allows a decent vacuum to be applied to the tightened bleeder. The kit comes with many different sizes of fittings to match the different sizes of bleeders.

I tried the one man check valve style before the mity-vac but it didn't work for me. Maybe I bought crappy check valves.

 

[Cazimere]

No matter if you want to keep your truck 2 years or 20 years, i'd recommend doing your oil changes yourself if your able. My last truck i had 11 years and 250,000 miles. I did nearly all the oil changes myself. I just bought a 2009 and the very first FREE oil change at the dealer and the jackasses put in a quart too much oil. Luckily i checked the oil level before i drove it and made them drain a quart off.
I had the transmission fluids and filter changed on my old truck at CRAPPY LUBE and they forgot to refill the fluid. I made it about 5 miles before the transmission quit.
Yesterday i had a flat tire patched at a garage. When i got home i noticed a nice fresh scratch on the fender. *&%^$#@

 

[Jack Straw]

Caz- I've had similar experiences....what drives me nuts is when they drain your oil for about 30 seconds, I like to drain the oil for at least 10-15 minutes. Check the fluids and grease while letting the oil drain. Also get the oil nice and hot before you drain it.

 

[struggle]

There are lots of 20 year old vehicles on the road all over. Just wash and repair as needed. No need to do anything realy out of line that you would if you where going to keep it only 5 or ten years.

You have to accept that in that time frame it will most likely not be like the truck you brought home the day you bought it. Since the value of it will be diminished to almost nothing if you keep it that long trying to keep the outside perfect will be a losing battle if you expect any return on it 20 years later.

 

[Gooserider]

The problem I found with the mightyvac approach is that it is easy to get false readings of air in the system if you pull bubbles around the threads in the bleeders. I've also had times when you start pulling a good vacuum and it doesn't want to stop before you suck the master cylinder dry (especially a problem on bikes, as we have a smaller resevoir).

What I use instead are the "one man bleeder" units that are essentially a one way valve in a hose.

Gooserider

Maybe you were using the mity-vac wrong. I use the vac to apply a suction to the bleeder and then loosen the bleeder to allow fluid to flow. Then close the bleeder whenever you want to but before the vacuum runs out. This way you always have control and are always sucking on the bleeder. True, if you loosen the bleeder way loosely you might see some air bubbles being sucked up but I don't have a problem with that since I don't consider bubbles, only color of the bled fluid and/or volume of fluid cycled through to be sure it is adequately purged.

Using the mity-vac is a one man job but it takes two hands to top and start the flow of fluid.

Having a tight fitting on the bleeder allows a decent vacuum to be applied to the tightened bleeder. The kit comes with many different sizes of fittings to match the different sizes of bleeders.

I tried the one man check valve style before the mity-vac but it didn't work for me. Maybe I bought crappy check valves.

Well most of my practice has been on bike brakes, which tend to be more of a challenge because they are nearly vertical runs (especially on the front wheel) In order to push any bubbles down and out, you really need to get a lot of opening on the bleeder, as a slow flow allows the bubbles to rise back up... I also proved that there was leakage around the bleeder threads by puddling some fluid around them which got rid of the bubbles until the puddle sucked in... The one man bleeder units operate on a lower pressure difference and allow more flow, which is why they seem to work better for me...

Another thing that I do is any time I have reason to replace a rubber brake line, is I spend the extra money to get a braided stainless covered Teflon line - more expensive, but WELL worth it, as they last longer and give a major improvement in braking performance - Rubber lines swell significantly under braking pressure, which wastes alot of the pressure that could be going to the brake cylinders, and gives an inherently spongy feel to the brakes - the teflon lines essentially don't swell at all, so you get a lot more pressure at the brakes for the same input effort, and a much more solid feel... A well bled rubber line at best feels like squeezing a tennis ball, firm but with some give. A teflon line is more like squeezing a rock....

Gooserider

 

[John_M]

Caz and Jack Straw, Boy, are you guys right about the work done by many dealerships and quick change lube companies. All of us have suffered some or all of the same problems you mentioned. I sometimes wonder what else the technician was doing while working on my truck. And, except for over fills or under fills of fluids which you might recognize before leaving the lot, you cannot prove they caused the problem. I still change oil and grease my own truck when the weather permits.

Gooserider, I second everything you said about the flexible Teflon lines covered with stainless mesh. They provide a much more solid feel to the brake pedal and stay that way for many years.

Best Wishes,

John_M

 

[Jack Straw]

John-m
I got the oil changed in my Co. van at one of those places. You sat in the vehicle while they did it. At the end they had me start the van so they could check the oil pressue.... no oil pressure. It's hard to get oil pressure without any oil! Not to mention all the worthless crap they try to sell you.

 

[Later]

Had a friend that always "oiled' his truck twice a year. He drilled a small hole in all of the voids that could hold wet road gunk and sprayed them with a mist of used motor oil. All of his vehicles looked brand new after 10-15 years.

 

[rowerwet]

I've had my ranger for 10 years, it has 250k miles on it, I switched to amsoil synthetic oil at 100k. I run amsoil in all my vehicles but I do it because I only need to change the oil every 35k miles or one year (I don't have a garage)
I would change all the fluids to synthetic trany, transfer case, rear differential, it will reduce wear, handle heat better (synthetic doesn't break down easily), and increase your fuel milage 1-2 mph. I have noticed newer automatic transmissions seem to get the same fuel milage no mater what, my dad and I did a bunch of experimenting on his ranger (4 liter, 5 speed automatic, 2whl drive, extended cab) and no mater what he got 25 mpg almost exactly. Standard transmissions seem to allow your driving to change your milage more.
with such a short commute, you should do frequent oil changes, as your engine may not get hot enough to evaporate the water vapor in the oi from blow by and condesation from heating and cooling cycles. I bought a truck that had been driven like this once and the dipstick and oil filler had a mayonase looking goo from this, it burned off quickly after I started driving it 60 miles a day. Also depending on the model engine you have, some have big problems with sludge in the oil passages (Toyota has a few engines with this problem) on these engines amsoil makes you do 7k oil changes no mater what. (you can find it on their website, look up recomended oil and it will tell you even if you don't buy any)
Under coating (I got mine done at the dealership and my truck is just starting to have surface rust on the frame) or oil spray is a good idea. If you have a heated garage the salt will stew into the metal during the winter as the snow melts, doing a good under car wash after any salt is a good idea (we end up with white roads up here all winter from the salt)
Twenty years is a long time for a vehicle to last unless you live in the southwest where it is hot and dry. good luck.

 

[karl]

8000 miles a year and only 9 miles to work qualifies as severe duty. You're not getting the fluids hot enough to burn off the moisture.